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Region’s Best Spellers Will Compete Here on March 2 and 9

Lebanon, Ill. — McKendree University is proud to host the best spellers from the St.
Louis region at the 27th annual St. Louis Post-Dispatch Spelling Bee. The written semi-finals will take place on campus on Saturday, March
2. Winners will advance to the finals on Saturday, March 9 at the Hettenhausen Center
for the Arts.

The bee challenges students to improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies,
learn concepts and develop correct word usage. It is open to students under the age
of 16 who have not yet passed beyond the eighth grade. The local champion will qualify
for participation in the Scripps National Spelling Bee later this spring near Washington,
D.C.

Last year an 11-year-old boy from Chesterfield correctly spelled "telegnosis" (meaning
clairvoyance, or having supernatural or occult knowledge) to take home the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Spelling Bee’s 2012 trophy. He was the only one of 36 students who did not misspell
a word in the finals.

-McK-

McKendree University ranks among the top quarter of regional universities nationwide
in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” report. It is also a College of Distinction, among “America’s 100
Best College Buys,” and recognized as a “Military Friendly School” by Victory Media
for 2013. Founded in 1828, the historic Lebanon, Ill., campus is 25 miles from downtown
St. Louis. The Russel E. and Fern M. Hettenhausen Center for the Arts—“The Hett”—is
Southern Illinois’ premier performing arts venue, presenting world class dance, drama,
classical music and jazz. www.mckendree.eduwww.theHett.com